NCET Expo Speakers

Amber Barnes

Amber is the founder and Chief Learning Officer at StartHuman, a local leadership and organization development practice on a mission to re-humanize the workplace. For more than a decade she’s partnered with leaders from all types of organizations to improve employee performance while helping them be an employer of choice.

Jennifer Baker

Jennifer Baker is powerful and entertaining. She is a 2X Best-Selling Author, Founder of Success GPS Programs and President of Performance and Engagement Consulting. Jennifer has been selected as one of America’s Premier Experts™, internationally recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People from Influence Magazine, Fox, MSNBC and featured on the cover of The Good Life Magazine. Jennifer is one of the most sought after speakers and trainers for business growth. She is a master certified expert for digital and media marketing, certified in Everything DiSC® Emotional Intelligence, behavior assessments. Jennifer is a highly respected business and political consultant and an impactful hands-on trainer. Jennifer retired from her Casino Executive position in her 30’s and spends her time speaking on stages ranging from start up communities, chambers and government programs for businesses to top business schools and NASA. She supports professionals and companies world wide on subjects ranging from leadership, business technology, digital marketing, growth, accountability, EI issues, conscious capitalism, human trafficking, and creating a legacy worth living for. “If it is in your face, it is your responsibility”- Jennifer Baker is dedicated to helping others create a positive life of balance, recognize the important and create a positive impact by respectfully addressing critical and unpopular challenges that most hide from. Her hard-core ‘heart core’ approach is entertaining, powerful and leaves a life-long affect on her audiences.

Judy Haar

Judy’s experience spans traditional marketing, digital marketing, website design and social media. She has written for local newspapers, a published author, and a freelance writer. Judy focuses on critical business practices for small business such as branding, marketing, and social media.

Carl Gerhardt

Carl Gerhardt is a 30 year veteran of entrepreneurship and is retired Chairman of Alliance Franchise Brands. He also owned his own franchise business building it from a start-up to a very profitable business with over $2 mil. in sales. During his career he has consulted with hundreds of small business owners helping them start and profitably grow their business.

Buzz Harris

Buzz Harris can assist you with public relations, public affairs, and mergers and acquisitions. Buzz is currently a Business Broker and works with clients to determine the valuation of their business and to sell and/or acquire businesses. His background includes founding and operating businesses, associations and non-profits.

Bob Ryan

Businesses regularly engage Bob, a registered patent attorney, to handle a range of domestic and international intellectual property procurement, transactional, and enforcement matters.

As a founding director-partner at what became and remains among the largest and most prominent intellectual property law firms in the Midwest and subsequently a former founder and Chief Legal Officer of a leading provider of digital multimedia distribution systems, Bob has an intimate understanding of intellectual property law and practice and the challenges his clients face.

Bob’s substantial experience includes virtually all phases of patent, trade secret, trade identity, unfair competition, copyright, licensing, technical contract, and antitrust law. His work has involved numerous technologies, including electrical, electronic, mechanical, optics, software (from parallel processor operating systems to complex applications), computer hardware, satellite transmission, telecommunications, chemical-mechanical, food science, gaming, and petrochemicals, mining, and rocketry. Bob also litigates on behalf of his clients, and has been trial counsel in antitrust and patent cases and other intellectual property centric cases, and held leading roles in scores of appeals and numerous patent review and trademark opposition proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Ed Steinglass

Ed is a business owner and have a broad background in business operations, early-stage startups, and business-to-business sales and marketing. Most recently Ed has been a business owner continuously growing and re-inventing the business, managing day-to-day operations as well as long-term strategic activities including financing, leases, purchasing, and distribution agreements.